Travelling through cultural traditions, time and generations of family members, Dawinder Bansal brought together home-based artisans and the specialist small businesses that ensured a 1980s wedding in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities went ahead with the unforgettable sensations that Dawinder remembered from her youth.
Embedding herself in the local community, Dawinder enlisted Blackburn’s finest artisan makers, collaborating with Masterchef’s Moonira Hinglotwala, local pie maker (and festival favourite) Zainab Bilal and scores of others to come together in a fully realised 1980s living room and wedding reception hall. Dawinder invited attendees to become guests at a wedding where Uncles and Aunts were cooking celebration samosas, friends and neighbours were throwing a Mehndi party and the whole community had turned out to make sweets, decorations, garlands and music in a spectacular celebration of British Asian culture from the 1980s.
Listen to the podcast episode about The Making of a South Asian Wedding below.
Passionate about telling hidden stories to amaze, entertain, inspire and provoke audiences, Dawinder is an award-winning artist and producer whose moving image films and immersive installations are informed by cultural heritage and contemporary stories. Dawinder is passionate about unearthing hidden stories to amaze, entertain, inspire and provoke audiences. Her recent commissions include: We Found Love In The 80s, Asian Women & Cars: The Road to Independence, Jambo Cinema and The Making of a South Asian Wedding. She is a fellow at the Royal Society of Arts, serves on the Diversity Board at ITV Central and is an Arts Advisor to the prestigious Jerwood Arts Foundation.
Weddings are a celebration of people coming together – it’s the union of families, friends and community. With thanks to the making talent of Lancashire:
– Moonira Hinglotwala – BBC Masterchef Finalist 2018
– Gita Mistry – Winner, BBC Best Cook 2009
– Riff Howarth – Professional make-up artist
– Nadeem Yaseen – Poshaak, est. 1965
– Bilal Ibrahim Patel – Designer & owner of Zefaith Haute Couture
– Lata Kotecha – Wedding decorations maker
– Ashok Chudasama – Wedding photographer
– Gossip Beauty Salon
– Halima Hussain
– Aashiyana Arts
– Dhamak Punjabana Di – Award winning Dance Group
Art in Manufacturing film by Wash Films, made possible with funding from Creative Lancashire
Photography by Robin Zahler and GS Visuals
Podcast created in collaboration with Arrest All Mimics
